Solving Life's Little Riddles...One Day at a Time.

May 09, 2011

The following is a "re-post" of a "classic" from my archives. The concept of the reusable popcorn bucket is one of the most disturbing and disgusting marketing schemes to come along in quite some time...

"Kick" the Bucket...

Today's Notable Quote: "Can you believe what they're doing with that refillable popcorn bucket?" - Overheard in the concession line at the local Carmike Theater this past weekend.

Buy a "refillable" plastic popcorn bucket for only $8.00 - and get 50-cent refills on each return visit to the theater during the coming year!

Initial response? WOW! In the land of unrealistically high-priced candy, food and beverage--i.e. the local movie theater...this sounds like a great deal...a response followed by looking at the people in line--in our case, an acne-faced concession-seeking patron who scratched his face and other areas of his anatomy with the plastic popcorn bucket, before putting it on his head. At this point, our initial excitement was replaced with the sobering realization that hordes of strangers will be bringing buckets from their various abodes to be dipped into the common trough alongside our popcorn bag or bucket. Hmmm.

As a student of human nature and safe food handling practices, I have learned a few facts that cause me to look at the bucket offering with something less than full-out enthusiasm. In the interest of the public health and welfare, I will share a few of my observations and a possible solution to the bucket dilemma.

Regarding foodborne illness - directly related to safe food handling:

1. Each year in the U.S. , approximately 75,000,000 - or about 1 in 4 citizens contracts some form of foodborne illness - often mistaken for intestinal flu or other illness.

2. Nearly 325,000 Americans are hospitalized due to something they ate which was improperly prepared, or mishandled during serving.

3. An estimated 5,000 deaths result from mishandled or contaminated food consumed by individuals in the U.S. each year.

Regarding human nature:

Are the individuals taking steps to insure the proper cleaning and sanitation of their popcorn buckets prior to and during transport to the concession line?

Are the service clerks behind the counter taking the steps necessary to provide clean, safe, contaminant-free popcorn to each patron(washing their hands, wearing disposable gloves, etc.)?

I could go on and on, but won't, in the interest of your ability to enjoy lunch or dinner.

Regarding a possible solution:

For now, I suggest "kicking the bucket" - and probably adhering to the TPAP (Theater Popcorn Abstinence Plan). Were I in charge of concessions, a simple solution would be to implement the sanitation protocol described above, along with providing disposable liners for use by the refillable bucket bearers. Of course, along with these steps, I would clean the restrooms on a regular schedule, teach the staff basic principles of customer engagement, etc., etc.

February 14, 2009

Notable Quote: "The Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America...has been accused of producing tainted peanut products that may have reached everyone from poor school children to disaster victims."

Unconscionable. Unscrupulous. Greed. Hubris. Put 'em together...what've you got? Uugh! And "uugh" seems an apt description for the incredible series of poor decisions made by Peanut Corp. of America in the name of profit.

What did they do wrong? Let's start with this excerpt from an article featured in yesterday's Associated Press:

"On Friday, companies began destroying products made with anything that came from the plant after Texas health officials said they discovered rodents, feces and feathers in a crawl space above a production area. An air handling system sucked debris from the crawl space into an area where peanuts are processed, officials said, so Texas officials took the highly unusual step of ordering all products ever made at the plant recalled."

October 01, 2007

Notable Quote: The nation's meat supply is "the safest in the world," a U.S. agriculture official said Monday, seeking to reassure consumers following the recall of 21.7 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

It seems that one of the qualifications for appointment to certain key Governmental posts is possessing the knack for making statements that sound like weak defensive posturing during the midst of a potential crisis of consumer trust (and health!). The Notable Quote, along with others in the following linked article from Time Magazine: Fed: U.S. Beef 'Safest in the World' provides support for my position. Read on for more insight into this strange phenomenon...

July 16, 2007

Today's Notable Quote: "One case is too many," said Mike Bamboyani, owner of the Pars Cove. "We are taking all the steps that we can."

"Taste of Chicago" - the annual food-sampling festival that is one of the summertime highlights in the Windy City, got some negative publicity as a number of attendees became ill at the event. The suspected culprit was believed to be tainted hummus, which caused 120 attendees to get sick. For more on the story, click on the following ABC News link: Food Festival Makes More Than 100 Sick

May 23, 2007

Today's Notable Quote: "The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for monitoring 80 percent of the food supply (everything but meat, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees), but the food inspection program has been underfunded for years, and the agency has little enforcement capability beyond asking companies for voluntary recalls. It is able to inspect less than 1 percent of the $60 billion of food imported each year." - from the article "Better Safe Than Sorry" by Nancy Shute in this week's US News and World Report

Safe Food is vital to our health. Simple. Obvious. Increasingly Difficult to Ensure. As our sources for food continue to expand across the globe--our ability to monitor, inspect and guarantee safe, wholesome food becomes a near impossibility. What to do to guarantee your family's safety? "If you want 100 percent safety, you have to stop eating. You really do," says Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University and author of What to Eat. "Unless you're growing your own food and you know the quality of your soil, and you know what the animals are eating, you can't be 100 percent safe."

April 27, 2007

Today's Notable Quote: "Attorney Randall Hood of Rock Hill and 15 other attorneys were inspecting a ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Ga., in April when they found the dead rat, bird feathers inside the plant, roaches on raw peanuts and other things 'consistent with salmonella contamination,' according to a court document." - from a court document quoted in today's Charlotte Observer.

In an earlier post, I quoted an FDA official who said that "the agency's system needs to be overhauled to meet today's demands, but contended that the agency could not have done anything to prevent either contamination episode."

March 14, 2007

Today's Notable Quote: "With an alphabet soup of federal, state and local agencies regulating food safety from the farm to the table, most Americans presume that their food isn’t dangerous." - from Justice Talking Food Poisoning Show Overview posted this week on Bill Marler's Blog.

Below find a link to a great audio clip featuring an interview with attorney Bill Marler regarding the safety of the food supply in the US. This interview is very timely in light of recent "headline-making" food-contamination news and foodborne illness outbreaks.

March 07, 2007

Notable Quote: "We have a food-safety crisis on the horizon," Michael Doyle, head of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, recently told the AP.

As a lifelong food industry and customer service advocate...I have always had a keen interest in working with companies to ensure the safe receipt, storage, preparation and serving of food. Over the past 15 or so years, I have worked with numerous groups to prepare their front-line teams to become "certified" safe food handlers.

One thing that I have always found puzzling is the apparent lack of coordination between local, state and federal agencies when it comes to the standards and enforcement needed to ensure a safe food supply. The linked article that follows gives some grim examples of recent food-related illness outbreaks. The article's writer also shares concerns regarding possible future outbreaks--perhaps more widespread and serious than the ones currently and recently in the media.

Safe food handling practices are not difficult to learn and follow.1)Wash hands, clean and sanitize all food-contact surfaces and equipment. 2) Cook foods to proper temperatures before serving, and hold them at proper holding temperatures. 3) Never serve refrigerated or packaged foods beyond their recommended shelf-life (expiration date on package).

March 06, 2007

Notable Quote: "Despite the potential benefits of against childhood diarrhoea - the second leading killer of under-fives globally - the news has been described as 'very disturbing' by GeneWatch UK, according to the Daily Mail. Researcher Becky Price is quoted: 'There are huge, huge health risks and people should rightly be concerned about this.' "

Read further for both sides on this decision to allow rice crops to be grown with the addition of genetically modified ingredients which are found in human breast milk. Human genes in rice spark new GM row